Hyatt Launches Lifestyle Division To Drive Guests & Revenues

Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) has announced that it launched a division that would look after its lifestyle offerings. The new division is bringing together the existing Hyatt centric brands and the Two Roads Hospitality’s lifestyle brands. Brands that will come together within the lifestyle division include Andaz, Alila, Hyatt Centric, Joie de Vivre Hotels, Thompson Hotels and tommie.

Hyatt announced that Frederic Flageat-Simon, the ex-CEO of Two Roads Hospitality, will be the global head of the lifestyle operations while Heather Geisler, vice president of global brands, will work on brand building in the new division.

The move is Hyatt’s way of attracting more customers by providing them with distinct lifestyle experiences. It also indicates the company’s strategies of countering competition from the likes of Marriott (NASDAQ:MAR) and Hilton (NYSE:HLT) .

Lifestyle Division May Aid in Fortifying Brand Presence

We believe that the above move is in line with Hyatt’s relentless focus on brand building. The company aims to differentiate its brands from one another by providing distinct travel experiences. To meet this aim, it is recycling assets and developing newer divisions that would support growth.

For instance, Hyatt made an investment in Oasis Collections, a curated marketplace that blends the value and authenticity of private homes with quality service and exceptional amenities. Acquisition of Two Roads Hospitality also helped Hyatt in maintaining a lifestyle offering and strengthened Hyatt’s footprint.

Winning Customer Loyalty & Driving Revenues — Major Goals

The lifestyle brands are part of Hyatt’s loyalty program that suggests that it is continuously focusing on building its customer loyalty. In order to survive in a tough economic environment, the company is continuously devising ways to enhance guest experience and raise occupancy. Successful innovation has been a trademark of Hyatt, with a commitment to impactful architectural design of hotels in large-scale convention and smaller leisure markets.

The company also has a creative approach to food and beverage at its hotels worldwide, and created profitable and popular venues that build and enhance demand for its hotel properties. Meanwhile, in 2017, it launched a loyalty program, World of Hyatt, which replaced its Gold Passport loyalty program. Notably, World of Hyatt is a platform for guest engagement. The company is witnessing a higher level of guest satisfaction, owing to the enhancements.

Also, we believe that these recent hotel additions will fortify the Hyatt Regency brand’s global footprint, and provide a boost to Hyatt’s Owned and Leased Hotels’ revenues. As it is, in the first quarter of 2019, revenues at Owned and Leased Hotels totaled $458 million, down 9.6% from the year-ago figure.

Zacks Rank & Share Price Performance

Shares of Hyatt, a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, have gained 10.2% so far this year, underperforming the industry’s 18.8% rally. A better-ranked stock in the same industry is Red Lion Hotels (NYSE:H) , currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), with shares declining 6.1% year to date. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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